Obsessed With Inde Navarette, Not Obsession

Obsession has garnered an obsession-worthy cult following from both critics and audiences alike. Not only that, but the indie project (helmed by first-time feature film director Curry Barker, a then 25-year-old with a smattering of YouTube shorts to his credit) has so far grossed over $480 million at the worldwide box office — from a meager budget of $750,000.

Originally screened at the 2025 Toronto Film Festival, Barker's creation was snapped up by distributor Focus Features for a May theatrical release. It's since lit the cinematic world on fire, undeservedly so.

The last film to rake in this kind of cash and buzz from a mini budget was 1999's sleeper hit The Blair Witch Project, yet Obsession has eclipsed that film's financial success in less than three surprising months.

And the wackiest part? Obsession is a mediocre film, albeit fueled by a breakout performance from Inde Navarette as deranged antagonist/victim Nikki Freeman. Truly, it's not worthy of the cavalcade of praise from cinema connoisseurs. How on earth does this film have a 94% Rotten Tomatoes score aggregated from 310 professional critics?!

And don't get me started about the feverish virality on TikTok and swathes of doppelganger apps. Emma Wolfe AKA Spookyastronauts, Australia's own undisputed social media queen of horror films, called it "the perfect film."

I fail to see perfection upon dozens of viewings.

The cinematography is an eyesore due to the low budget, with bland sets and a minimalist cast, most of whom dial in forgettable performances. The tired trope of a hopeless romantic wishing his crush loved him more than "anyone in the fucking world", only for her to turn psychotic and make his life hell, has been done to death.

Think Bedazzled (sans Liz Hurley as the Devil) with splashes of gruesome horror, spliced with a backfiring romance wish as seen in television shows like Buffy, Supernatural, Riverdale, and The Simpsons.

Conspicuously, director Curry Barker stated in an interview that he was "inspired" by a mystical monkey paw granting wishes in Treehouse of Horror II, a PG-13 episodic spin-off from The Simpsons universe.

Really?! The director of the highest-grossing indie film of all time, borrowed an idea from a popular cartoonish sitcom?! Now usurped from its throne, at least The Blair Witch Project kicked off the 'found footage' genre, which still permeates to this day. Paranormal Activity, Cloverfield, and the V/H/S franchises are prime examples.

Originality makes movies special, and Obsession has nothing new to woo sub-genre savants in its filmic deck of lacklustre cards.

What it does have, is the aforementioned Inde Navarette, a 25-year-old relative newbie who spent time streaming videogames on Twitch and walked dogs for pocket money prior to Obsession catapulting her to prominence. Navarette is mesmerizing in every scene. Her screen presence is undeniable; the camera adores her, and the part fits her eccentric tendencies and vocal range like a glove.

She artfully navigates the evolution of her character, Nikki Freeman, from a wide-eyed pure soul into a manic and murderous banshee with every inch of her facial and bodily prowess.

Even before Freeman's longtime friend Baron "Bear" Bailey snaps a One Wish Willow stick, thus placing her under a love spell gone awry, she's pure dynamism in her maiden scenes. She world-builds singlehandedly.

The aforementioned Bear is played by Michael Johnston, and he's sadly miscast in this role. His over-the-top reactions to jump scares come off as schlocky, his dialogue delivery during the majority of the film is wooden and takes no advantage of the breadth nor scope of what a versatile actor (think Ryan Gosling) could have brought to his character.

Bear has the workings of a multifaceted character; he begins the film as a hopeless romantic, casts the love spell on Nikki which conjures a separate version of her in the same body (colloquially known as "Wish Nikki" in Obsession fandom), and continues having sex with her even after he realizes the real Nikki isn't sentient.

In one bedroom scene, Nikki reclaims her autonomy albeit fleetingly, pleading with him to kill her while "Wish Nikki" is sleeping. Bear bluntly responds with "what's so bad about being with me?" This U-turn from neighborhood nice guy to self-indulgent controller of women should have carried gravitas, yet with Johnston behind the proverbial wheel, Bear's arc is forgettable.

Poor casting is where Obsession collapses under the weight of Navarette's perfection. No standout film can have a blazingly lopsided skill dynamic between two leading actors; Johnston is outshone whenever he and Navarette interact on screen...and their two co-stars don't fare much better.

Megan Lawless and Cooper Tomlinson pepper the film in supporting roles as Sarah and Ian, rounding out the fictional friendship group. Neither add anything of substance to the plot. Like Johnston, they lack the acting chops and star power to make me care about their character's respective fates.

Truth is, whenever Navarette isn't on screen as either Nikki or the deliciously heinous "Wish Nikki", Obsession suffers...badly.

The film's script is full of flaws. One cringey scene in particular involves Tomlinson's character comically wishing for "a billion dollars" using his own One Wish Willow stick, and yep, you guessed it! Money begins falling from the sky.

It's absurd, out of place, and feels like it belongs in a separate plot.

The ending is also off-key. The concept is solid, yet lacks any semblance of originality, while the execution is stymied by pacing. Taking a page or two from Shakespeare's magnum opus Romeo + Juliet, Bear swallows a bottle of pills in an attempt to end his life and free Nikki from the wish. It's his lone act of heroism.

However, "Wish Nikki" makes a wish of her own just as he has second thoughts and tries to vomit the pills in a rebuttal of said heroism. It's unknown what she wished for, though he appears to be "Wish Bear", besotted with "Wish Nikki", having forgotten all about his impending doom. The two embrace and, well, Bear overdoses and dies on the lounge room floor.

Nikki is, well, Nikki Freeman again. "Wish Nikki" ceases to exist with Bear's delightful demise, as he's no longer a living object of infatuation for her. What should have been a fascinating insight into the aftermath of dispossession, of losing one's sense of self only to reclaim it and face the trauma, zooms by in under thirty seconds.

Not to mention corny music begins playing (reminiscent of a 1960s happy-go-lucky theme you'd likely hear on an episode of Gilligan's Island) as the end credits roll.

Is this movie scary? Absolutely! Is it rife with brooding tension? Fuck yes, but all dues go to Navarette. She out-acts the entire cast without saying a word; several chilling scenes place her in the foreground, shrouded in shadows, stalking Johnston's character in blink-and-you-missed-it moments.

Whilst he's at work, visiting friends, scrolling on his phone, Navarette's "Wish Nikki" is always close by. Each time I rewatched Obsession, I noticed her character camouflaged among more and more scenes. Blurry and barely there, but eerie, nonetheless.

Perhaps this is why the film is lauded beyond its worth? Like Nikki, audiences and critics have become lovestruck, perhaps even spellbound, by Inde Navarette's blockbuster performance. Obsession 2 is already earmarked for pre-production, and no doubt a long-running franchise has been born.

Birthed by one actress, and one actress only.

(c) Edward Swafford 2026